The Ottawa Senators have traded forward Tyler Motte to the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Julien Gauthier and a conditional seventh-round pick.
The Ottawa Senators pulled off a move of their own on Sunday afternoon, trading forward Tyler Motte to the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Julien Gauthier and a conditional seventh-round pick.
Motte, who signed a one-year deal with the Senators this past off-season, will now head back to the club he was traded to at last year's deadline.
From an asset standpoint, Motte is a decent depth pickup for a contender like the Rangers hoping to fortify its roster for a playoff push.
The 27-year-old has produced serviceable results in a bottom-six role in Ottawa this season, racking up three goals and six assists for nine points while averaging a little under 14 minutes in nightly ice time.
Offense isn't exactly Motte's bread and butter, given that he's never scored more than seven goals in a single season throughout his career. But the Michigan native is capable of driving possession at the bottom of the lineup and adding the type of energy and puck movement that teams thrive on in the playoffs.
That impact was evidenced during this most recent postseason when Motte scored two crucial goals for the Rangers to aid in the club's march to the Eastern Conference final.
Now, Motte will return to that organization, hoping to do it all over again.
In Gauthier, the Senators acquire the younger of the two forwards, adding a former first-round pick to their roster after he had seemingly fallen out of favor in New York.
Through 40 games so far this season, Gautheir had mustered six goals and three assists for nine points as well, despite averaging just a little over eight minutes in ice time per game.
Perhaps a fresh start in a new organization will be just the thing Gauthier needs to get back on track.